


Silent Destruction

by boodaven



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Cab Driver AU, M/M, The Losers Club, no clown boi, richie cab driver
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 20:28:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17649347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boodaven/pseuds/boodaven
Summary: Eddie’s plane was cancelled, stuck at the small airport of Derry and a place far away to be, Eddie got a cab. The next airport unsurprisingly, was miles away. Miles with a stranger wasn’t something Eddie usually did. But a lot of the things they got up to on this trip weren’t usually done.





	Silent Destruction

**Author's Note:**

> yooooo sup my biatches, hope you enjoy this little fic I decided to write. Follow my tumblr @reddieiscanonx and for more of my work please check out either my wattpad (@BoEdWaRdS) or my AO3 account.  
> Have a great reading y'all!!

The wind was sharp, blowing against the cab windows. It was mid January, the 22nd to be exact. But being exact wasn’t something Richie usually dabbled with. His hands were tightly held onto the steering wheel, his palms sweaty. It was late, or early in a sense. Snowflakes drifted around the empty roads, landing softly and disappearing in a second. No one at home would believe him, but there was snow slowly piling up. It would be gone by the morning. The fields around were white as far as the eye could see. A beautiful sight really, and despite the insane fear of truly being alone in this cab, far from any society, ever he could appreciate the silent beauty of it.

A slight groaning came from the back of the cab, which made Richie jump back into reality. The man who was previously laying in the back of his cab propped himself up, and glanced outside the window, greeting the surprising weather as many do whenever the silent beauty comes to visit.  
“Snow.” Was all that was said.

Fields passed them by, not a car in sight. The cab drivers fear slowly came creeping back as he thought the man in the back began to fall asleep once again. It was a long journey. Longer than what he is used to. Long drives, especially those who go so far out into the nowhere scared him. Shaking the thought away, Richie looked back and locked eyes with the slight man sitting upright.

“I don’t think I said, but I’m Eddie.” Eddie smiled, and blinked at Richie, who turned back to driving quickly.

Eddie didn’t take offence to the man, when he didn’t respond. Nor did he take offence when he tried switching on the car radio to avoid conversation. No luck however, and to Eddie’s silent delight, the man spoke.

“We should be there in a few hours, a while to go.” His voice was deep, and calming Eddie thought.

“I do feel badly for making you drive all this way and back,” Eddie watched for the man's reaction but received none. He continued speaking, determined to get something, anything, out of this man. “My flight was cancelled you see, quite a dilemma. I-“

Eddie was interrupted. “A paycheck is a paycheck man, I don’t need your life story.”

Sure, Eddie supposed he got a reaction, but it wasn’t quite the one he was hoping for.

A known fact about the very Eddie sitting in the back of this very cab on this very snowy road, was that he was lonely. He knew that a twenty-something year old man traveling in a cab alone didn’t scream ‘Man with lots of friends,’ but he enjoyed trying to keep up that person he created in his mind. It was also a nice break from the people back home, and their closed minded opinions of him.

This man wasn’t from Derry, and had no interest in the sad, little gay boy who just never fitted in. He simply did not care, Eddie liked that, he could be whoever he wanted to be.

An hour of comfortable silence passed by quick, and before they knew it a service station was quickly approaching.  
“Would you like to grab a bite to eat?” Eddie questioned. “You must be starved.”

Eddie waited patiently for an answer, but apparently that was too much, and so he got just a sigh and a changing of lanes.

Richie really couldn’t believe his luck, he preferred the man ‘Eddie’ when he was asleep. Not only was he chatty, he was fucking cute. Richie didn’t like when someone was just so, how do you say? Effortless.

The cab driver swung the car door open almost as soon as the car stopped. The snow crunched under Richie’s feet, as he waited for the ‘Eddie’ man to hurry up. Being stuck in a car with a stranger for hours is bad enough, but you could never know who they really were, and that scared him.

He could just imagine Eddie reaching into his bag for his ‘wallet’ grabbing a knife instead and slitting his throat in a single swoop. Richie took a step back.

“The perfect crime.” He said to himself, imagining the papers. ‘Sad, lonely, friendless cab driver, 25, killed in tragic accident that no one cares about. Body was found over three weeks after accident was predicted to be.

He shuddered, and subconsciously took another large step back. Eddie shut the cab door and began walking towards him. Wallet in hand.

Richie’s thoughts faded as soon as he laid eyes once again on Eddie. But he moved on swiftly, ignoring all his natural impulses.

The services were cosy, and busier than expected due to the empty roads. The artificial heat warmed Richie’s hands, and he was already in a better mood for someone who has been driving for hours into the night with a hot stranger.

He looked around the service station, taking note of the options of where the pair could place themselves. A red booth caught Eddies eye and he took off to seat there before Richie could even notice that Eddie had entered the service station.

A fucking booth? Richie didn’t think that they would be seating next to each other, what sane person wants to share a booth with their cab driver, I could be a serial killer, Richie thought and smiled to himself. Smiling because he had previously thought that the ‘Eddie’ man was a serial killer.

They sat down, and after a second Eddie was up onto his feet again, walking off quickly, Richie didn’t follow, watching the man walk away and taking his appearance in for the first time.

His hair was slightly wet, making the light brown colour darken in places, and flatten down his slight curls. He was wearing a large jumper, a pastel colour. Fluffy. Richie realises he must have put it on whilst getting his wallet, because he didn’t remember it from when he collected the man at the airport. How long ago that felt.

Richie silently appreciated the red booty shorts, which were not appropriate for the weather, perhaps this ‘Eddie’ man was supposed to be going somewhere hot right now, instead of stuck in a service station. He thought to ask that, but thought it would be an invitation for a conversation to start. And Richie didn’t need to know that badly.

The man returned with two bags of KFC. Richie tried to hide his smile with his hand but Eddie had seen it and smiled widely at the happy reactions had gotten out of the man.

“The least I can do for you, driving all this way.” Eddie learnt from his past mistake, and stopped there. He didn’t expect an answer.  
“Thank you.” The cab driver said back.

Richie opened the bags and took out the food the ‘Eddie’ man had bought. He was cautious, still. A distant worry of poison drifted around in his mind, but went when Richie locked eyes with the man across him.

Brown eyes, Eddie noticed. His eyes were normally covered by his black curly hair, it looked soft. Eddie wanted to tuck it behind his ear so he could properly see the man’s eyes. And suddenly he felt a sudden urge to do so.

Richie looked away. And the moment was over.

Richie sipped his Coke in silence, trying to calm his burning cheeks.

Minutes passed, and the silence was painful, and stiff. And then to everyone’s surprise, Richie spoke.  
“Where were you going?”

It took Eddie a moment to realise that the man was talking about his flight. That the man was talking at all.  
“No where exciting.” Eddie responded, and sipped his coke. “To visit my Aunts.”

Richie liked Eddies new blunt approach. Left more to the imagination, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing Richie couldn’t quite work out yet.

They ate the food and stretched their legs, mild conversation passed. Speaking mainly of weather and such, maybe movies once or twice. It was then time to go.

10 hours left, Richie thought, climbing back into the cab, only ten hours until he can drive home and forget all about this man.

10 hours left, Eddie thought, climbing into the back of the cab, only ten hours till he was at his Aunts and away from this man, away from the strong feeling he felt whenever he looked at him. Eddie wished the journey to be longer.

The cab was freezing, and Eddie began to shiver. Eddie rubbed his arms to warm them up. The heating started up blowing out cold air which made Eddie bring his knees up to his chest whilst Richie fiddled with the buttons. 

Richie turned around and saw how cold Eddie was.  
“Here.” He said throwing an oversized hoodie back to Eddie. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out an old blanket, and gave that to Eddie as well. Eddie thanked him.

They drove for an hour with minimal conversation. Richie was tired, but the thought of the final destination kept him awake. Both knew that it wasn’t the safest thing in the world, for Richie to have driven for over twelve hours. Half with Eddie, half without. But neither said anything. It was spoken in the silence, their breathing in perfect harmony telling all the stories they needed to be told. 

In that silence, they became friends.

Richie suddenly felt a warmth rise in the cab, and not from the shitty heating. From the sudden realisation that this man was not to be feared. His jaw unclenched, and his grip loosened. It was pleasant. 

Eddie, although he did not know even the strangers name, felt this same comfort. It felt like fresh strawberries in a meadow, which doesn’t really made any sense to Eddie, but it was the exact feeling he was feeling, but he would never had said that aloud. 

After another twenty minutes. Someone spoke.  
“Would you like to sit in the front?” Richie asked, tensing again for the first time in twenty minutes, waiting for the response.

It was strange, too soon. A creepy thing for him to do. Eddie would surely open the door and jump out, to try get away from the killer cab driver. Thoughts rushed through Richie’s head, a mile a minute. His brain flying around, not pausing for a second. Until Eddie climbed awkwardly, leaving his things in the back, into the passenger seat. 

Bizarrely, Eddie stuck out his hand. Richie glanced at it, concentrating on the road. His mind oddly quiet.

“Eddie.” Eddie spoke softly, it was nothing more than a careless whisper.  
“Richie.” Richie responded, shaking the hand. His voice was curt and alert, he looked at Eddie, for no more than a mere three seconds before looking back at the road. In those three seconds he decided something that would change the fate of both of these men, although Richie didn’t quite know it yet. He decided that he was to spend the rest of this journey, enjoying every second.


End file.
